Reported / Citable
Background
Bradley Lane Croft, proceeding in forma pauperis while confined at a halfway house, sued a task-force officer, an assistant U.S. attorney, and unnamed officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Bivens. Croft formerly operated Universal K-9, a San Antonio dog-training school. He was convicted in federal court of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering, and filing false tax returns in connection with misrepresentations involving the school’s Veterans Affairs education-benefits approval.
Croft alleged that Officer Sharleigh Drake circulated a nationwide bulletin before his criminal conviction falsely stating that Universal K-9’s training program was compromised by fraud. He also alleged that AUSA Gregory Surovic repeated false information at sentencing and that defendants conspired to conceal exculpatory evidence and intimidate or suppress favorable witnesses. Croft sought damages, correction of the alleged false information, and other relief.
The Court’s Holding
Judge Jason K. Pulliam dismissed the official-capacity claims without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction. Bivens does not waive the federal government’s sovereign immunity for official-capacity claims, and § 1983 official-capacity damages claims against state officials are barred by the Eleventh Amendment.
The court dismissed the remaining claims with prejudice as frivolous because they were untimely. The alleged conduct occurred no later than Croft’s April 30, 2021 sentencing, so Texas’s two-year personal-injury limitations period expired by April 30, 2023; Croft did not file until June 10, 2025. His conclusory assertions of late discovery, limited records access, and incarceration did not establish equitable tolling. Alternatively, to the extent success on the claims would undermine his still-valid convictions, the claims were barred by Heck v. Humphrey until those convictions are invalidated.
Key Takeaways
- Texas’s two-year personal-injury limitations period governs § 1983 claims brought in Texas, with federal law determining accrual.
- General allegations of limited prison access to records or legal research do not, without specific supporting facts, warrant equitable tolling.
- Claims alleging fabricated evidence, suppressed favorable evidence, or witness intimidation are Heck-barred when success would necessarily imply the invalidity of an uninvalidated conviction.
Why It Matters
The order illustrates the multiple screening barriers facing prisoner civil-rights complaints: sovereign immunity for official-capacity claims, limitations defenses apparent from the pleadings, and the Heck favorable-termination requirement. The dismissal counts as a PLRA strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).